


young gods

by foxtoveni



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Gods & Goddesses, Alternate Universe - Greek Mythology, Blood and Injury, Body Horror, Family Issues, Fluff and Angst, M/M, Mild Gore, Mutual Pining, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Pining Keith (Voltron), but it will be mostly fluff, gore in general, idk how much angst there's gonna be tho
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-03-08
Updated: 2017-03-24
Packaged: 2018-09-30 18:01:14
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 11,988
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10168673
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/foxtoveni/pseuds/foxtoveni
Summary: [ IMPORTANT PS: Fic previously called "flowers and skulls, hearts and bones". ][ Shiro is the Son of Zeus, Keith is the Son of Hades, Lance is the Son of Aphrodite, Pidge is the Daughter of Athena and Hunk is the Son of Charis. ]Keith never liked the underworld or being around his less-than-likable father, so he escapes and enrolls in a camp where his cousin, son of Zeus, teaches demigods and growing gods alike. Along the way he meets a trio of teens around his age from different Gods and Goddesses: Pidge, Hunk and Lance.Keith can’t describe how hard he fell for Aphrodite’s son, Lance, but nobody likes or trusts the son of Hades, so Keith’s afraid to scare Lance away.





	1. son of hades

**Author's Note:**

> Keith’s not a bad guy he’s actually a very lovable grump pls hug him
> 
> and
> 
> me: time to write the third chapter for heart flips  
> also me: writes this idea instead
> 
> btw, changed fic's title! all this time I forgot to mention that title was a temporary one until I thought of another;; the previous title was actually chapter name ideas! that might be used in the future /wink

The camp Keith enrolls in is an active one. Every day there was something going on, loud chatter over one another, clashes of metal weapons and the noise of Shiro’s voice booming through the early morning’s erratic start as trainees began their day.

 

It was hard to drown out the noises from outside when you were abruptly woken up and quickly wide awake with all the daily commotion. It wasn’t rare at all, but it always manages to wedge itself in between Keith’s nerves dragging him into a grumpy mood in the morning. So no matter how much he tossed, shoved the pillow against his head or tried to convince his brain the night still claimed the blue skies and the only noises were cicadas with the wind, he was doomed.

 

That being said, much to Shiro’s dismay, Keith wasn’t social. Keith never really finds any need to be in the first place, if you ask him, reasons why is that not many trust the son of a ruthless, unlikable king god like Hades - It hurt Keith to think people who barely knew him assumed he was just like his father.

 

When in truth, Keith was probably the nicest thing in the entire hell that he is unfortunate enough to call home. The majority always think the underworld’s burning up, a twisted recreation of the living world, spewing fire and lava every which way with burning hot temperatures.

 

It wasn’t.

 

That was Hell.

 

The underworld was dark. There were mountains upon mountains with their spiky tops piercing the grey clouds, a cracked surface that would lead you to assume the entire place to fall apart, weather freezing to the point any mortal being who set foot into this damned place would freeze to death in an instant and the vast loneliness, where people only stare at each other, made others go silently _insane._

 

And yeah, Keith liked the cold weather, sometimes he’d like to spend some time alone to think or gather his thoughts, and the scenery was oddly calming if you didn’t pay attention to the quiet torture behind you - was that so bad?

 

That’s not to say he _doesn’t_ hate his home. It was lifeless, dull and unhappy - Keith wanted out, so that’s what he got.

 

After long thinking and a thunderous argument that followed ends up in flying furniture and literal fire that stirred up the storm clouds outside, Hades had kicked Keith out and left him on his own. They never got along.

 

Not that Keith could die by mortal means, but Keith would not be surprised if the man he scowls to call father cares less if he was found dead in a ditch, somewhere in this forsaken hellhole.

 

Hades did not account for his only child to escape the Underworld.

 

Keith never experienced (until now) the world above his cruel one. Hell, he’s lucky enough he found the entryway between the Underworld and Earth. It was sure a frenzy to find it but it was more complicated to get through the gatekeeper - that demon was onto him, but he appreciated the concern.

 

Though maybe he was actually scared of Hades punishing him for letting his son escape.

 

Keith sighs. Nobody really liked him, it was a painful feeling when you walked into a room and everybody turned their gaze away, when their voices die down to murmurs and the next thing you know everybody avoids your path; as if a single touch from the son of Hades would rot your body.

 

It was easy to tell when Keith was thinking too much. Since he yet had to learn to tame his powers, things he controlled such as fire would end up bursting up - it was no different for the still-lit lantern outside his cabin.

 

One minute the flame was small and orange, the next it was roaring up in a show spectacle of ghostly blue that appeared to push aside the laws of physics and contorted almost desperately.

 

Of course this perturbing flame does not go unnoticed by other members of the camp and that included Keith’s cousin.

 

The few firm knocks on the cabin door snap the young god out of his musings. He quickly realizes there were no other noises _but_ the knocks followed up with Shiro’s concerned voice.

 

Keith fears for the worst when he’s tossing the covers over his body and pushing himself off the bed. “Uh, coming!” He’s not sure why he sounds, well, _unsure._ He’s got nothing to be afraid of here, technically - but the one fear he does have here is Hades coming to get him, but not because he’ll come for _him_ but because he’ll _hurt_ _the_ _innocent_.

 

Pressing his fingers against the wooden frame while the free hand twisted the doorknob, he opened the door and let the sunshine reach into the dark room. _Well_ , mostly anyways. Shiro was standing on the porch like a towering titan, Keith would’ve actually flinched if it weren’t for the concern present on his cousin’s face.

 

“Are you okay?” Shiro asked, “The flame in your lantern just combusted and the whole thing caught fire.”

 

“I mean, yeah, I’m okay but - what?” said Keith peeking over Shiro’s broad shoulder who soon moves out the way to provide view. A few feet away from the cabin there was the pole with a lantern hanging on the top that came to a little curl.

 

At least that was how it was supposed to look - half the pole has bent inwardly with droplets of iron frozen in mid action, while the lantern laid discarded on the floor, burnt and half infused to the darkened dirt it laid on. The damage area still had bits of the blue flame life dying out.

 

Apparently what happened to the lantern had stirred the camp enough to stop them from doing whatever they were doing to watch the scene before them of an emotional teenage boy.

 

As they looked on with trepidation, untrustful eyes watched the newcomer that stood like a zombie in the doorway.

 

Keith felt tiny under the numerous gazes, drawing him to recoil deeper into the darkness of his new home but stopped short by a comforting hand on his tensed shoulders. Shiro knows his cousin didn’t mean to do that, aware of what he’s gone through and why he’s here too.

 

“Don’t worry, Keith,” said Shiro, retrieving the hand back to his side. “C’mon, go get changed.”  
  
Keith, already behind the frame of the wood, looks from the now-moving bunch to Shiro. “Why?” Keith breathed, prying himself away from the door already considering closing it on Shiro’s face.

 

He knows what his cousin is trying to do. He’s only been here for four days, five if you count the day he arrived exactly at eleven-fifty pm, so at least it’s expected that he’d feel shy and want to lock himself in his cabin for days, but Shiro was having none of that.

 

He was constantly trying to get Keith to _at least_ talk with someone, but Keith being the stubborn kid that he is escaped every attempt at socializing, but not today he won’t. He was cornered. Damn.

 

“I want you to meet three of my students,” Shiro finally says after he notes Keith’s done processing the situation, it was easy to read him sometimes, “They’re a friendly bunch.”

  
“Won’t they hate me?” Keith asks.

 

“No, why would they?” Shiro responds, a frown working it’s way around.

 

“Because I’m Hades’s son.” 

 

“So?”

 

“As you know, not many trust or like me because of that little fact.”

  
“They wouldn’t care less honestly.”

  
  
“What if you’re wrong?”

  
  
“Keith, I’ve known them for two years.”

  
  
Then silence follows between the relative’s exchange. Shiro was giving Keith the most fatherly, stern look he could’ve ever given and Keith was deadpanning, but at this point he gives in.

 

“Fine. I’ll be ready in about ten minutes.” He closes the door, shutting Shiro out momentarily so he could draw himself back to the room and start getting ready for the day - to meet people specifically.

 

He knew sooner or later that he would eventually have to crawl out of the cabin and talk with someone else other than Shiro to make friends, but he did expect it to be much later than sooner - but oh well, better late than never he’d say in this situation.

 

How about.. ‘Better however-long than never’! Yeah, that has a nice ring to it, doesn’t it?  
  
Keith sluggishly put on a red t-shirt that had the design of a human skull. The skull’s eyes were hollow and deep, but all fear of the stare was driven away with the colorful vines and flowers that hugged around the edges, clinging to the structure to decorate the lifeless picture with a vibrant feel, one of the many flowers had found their way into the eye sockets and sprouted from deep within, jaw hung open to let a bunch more of the same flowers grow out.

 

The hoodie he throws on top goes back to the creepy vibe of his shirt’s design however, a plain skull, but it was somewhat cute (at least to Keith), skinny jeans that hugged his form and were ripped around the thighs and knees, with a pair of red converse.

 

His style was casual really, he almost looked like a college student who was just tired 24/7 which wasn’t so far off from the real thing.

 

Keith combs down his hair the best he can as he goes through the door to the bathroom. His hair naturally grows out in a mullet and it also curls sometimes, so it’s quite a messy hair he’s got so he doesn’t even try sometimes. Whatever, he liked his messy hair.

 

He gives a quick wash to his mouth and face before he leaves.

 

Keith sees Shiro waiting patiently by the stairs of the porch when he closes the door behind him. It’s not long before they’re walking alongside one another, going through the camp to reach the destination unknown to Keith.

 

It’s not long before Shiro starts trying to interrogate Keith either. Emphasis on _tried_.

 

After the first few questions, Keith let Shiro to distract himself with a question Keith counters his with. Thankful for the success to his plan, Keith slips away from Shiro’s side and leaves the man to walk on and talk.

 

Though that plan had consequences. Now that Shiro’s gone off, Keith is alone in the middle of the camp surrounded by members who avoid him like the plague. Was it a mistake to come here? He felt so unwanted, but he had nowhere else to go and it’s not like he could lean on his uncles or cousins - they’d probably give him shelter or any type of help with no problem, but he didn’t want to be a burden.

 

Before he dwells and spirals further down into his thoughts and intrusive ones come around, Keith twists around and starts walking back the direction he came from to reach the cabin. That if h--

 

“Hey! You! Are you Keith?”  
  
A sweet, friendly voice comes his way - it’s almost hard to believe that was directed to him. If his name wasn’t mentioned, he wouldn’t had even realized the ‘hey’ was for him. He halts then, turning his head over a shoulder, looking for the person who just called him -- and his eyes land on him.

 

Keith’s jaw drops at the sight of the boy, heart thumping loud against his ribcage - tanned skin with stunning blue eyes, tall with messy, short brown hair. He strolls up to Keith, coming to a stop besides him. He was sweating and panting a lot - was he chasing after him?

 

“Aren’t you Hades’s kid?”


	2. son of aphrodite

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The parents do not define their children.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i'm so happy people like this fic like omg?? it makes me so excited to write for this, tysm for the kind comments!! <3 I was planning to post this tomorrow but I just finished it, so I was v excited and couldn't hold myself back.

That’s a first.

 

It’s not every day, literally _ever_ , that someone goes up to him so willingly and asks him _that_ without sounding forced or scared.

 

So it’s safe to say Keith was taken aback. Not only because of he just fell in love with a stranger, talk about love at first sight, but also because he seemed so comfortable around his person, when unsurprisingly, others look uneasy.

 

“Anybody there?” he asked, cocking his head to one side, from that angle Keith could see some design on the skin. He can also see that he’s been standing all lovestruck without saying anything to the boy.  
  
“Y-Yeah! I am,” Keith responds, fumbling over his words, wishing he could’ve replied something else other _than_ confirming he is Hades’s son. “Please don’t be scared, I’m not- I’m not like my dad.”

 

So much for a first impression. Keith was waiting for the other to make an excuse and walk away, never to cross Keith’s path again. Instead, he stood there. Why?

“I can’t say why I would assume you are, and neato!” the boy says, reaching out a hand, “I’m Lance.”

 

Keith looks almost confused at the hand gesture, staring at the arm stretched out to him, as if sprouted two more hands. “Oh.” He softly says, now catching the gesture.

 

Keith extends his own hand out, and the soft brush of their skin against one another, before their hands meet in a handshake, flares up Keith’s pale cheeks. The boy - who he now knows as Lance - had warm skin, in contrast to his corpse cold one. It was nice feeling that softness.

 

Lance didn’t seem uncomfortable with the sure sting of coldness in his hands though, making Keith ease up the tension clamming up his everything. “Keith, but you already knew that.”  
  
The handshake is held for a while longer than it should’ve from Keith’s side, but Lance didn’t mind or notice due to the lack of a reaction. So Keith takes it as a sign to speak up first, something was poking at his brain. “Your name’s familiar. You’re Aphrodite’s kid, right?”  
  
“One of them, yes,” said the young demigod, “I’m the third of the oldest siblings,” Keith observed him closely, It seems that Lance was the type to gesture around with his arms and hands as he speaks which Keith had to admit was a cute quirk. “And there’s two little more, fraternal twins!”

 

The corners of Keith’s lips tugged up, curling into a warm smile, as he watched Lance give his own grin. It feels like it’s been so long since he last gave a genuine smile. Lance was a literal ray of sunshine that shone through the dark, rain clouds that hung overhead Keith. Light that shone upon his dull life and made him warm on the inside, with a tingly feeling inside his stomach.

 

It hasn’t even been twenty minutes and Keith’s already got it bad for Lance.

 

                                                                                                       ~~~

 

Before he knows what’s happening, he’s following Lance somewhere while he goes on a storytelling ride.

 

He didn’t mind it however, sure he’s got not much to say due to the social anxiety but he was more than happy to hear Lance’s stories. Every now Keith would find himself giving a snort during Lance’s stories and at one time, full-out laugh at a silly joke told.

“So tell me something about yourself,” said Lance eventually, inevitably driving the spotlight to Keith who wanted to fall back from the line of sight, but having Lance’s expectant blue eyes gave him no choice.

 

Keith didn’t have much to tell about himself. As for his parents, he didn’t have a story. Friends, a foreign concept to Keith. The most he could talk was about his powers, which he supposes isn’t so bad.

  
“I can.. control fire, darkness, the de..” Keith trails off, catching himself before he spills further. He hoped Lance wouldn’t notice the way his face scrunched up into a frown of sorrow, already assuming painful words to come. “I mean,” He purses his lips, stuttering. “I-I'm not.. exactly happy or proud about my kinds of powers. They’re just.. just kinda like a bad memory.”  
  
“Hey, It’s okay,” said Lance, coming to stop, in which Keith does so too just inches behind his shoulder. “I know how you feel.” He continues. It was weird seeing Lance turn from a bubbly mood to one of sadness so quick, “I’m not sure if these are just rumors, but I’ve heard you despise your father and I have to be truthful, I feel the same about my mother.”

 

Keith has a feeling that Lance has been wanting to get that off his chest. He knows how it feels to hold a grudge against your parent, your mother or father who is a _God_ whom’s children got no place to say what’s right or wrong.

 

It’s not surprising some kids would definitely dislike their parent, but it was quite a shock hearing Lance say it so.. openly to Keith as if they’ve been friends for years - the type of friendship where you’re not shy telling each other about embarrassing stuff and not worry about being too open with feelings and the like.

Keith only knows very few stories from Gods and Goddesses. Thanks to the deprivation of most knowledge due to being trapped in the underworld, Keith did not know much about them other than Hades, Zeus and Poseidon.

 

One of the few stories he’s heard about the others though, is one of Aphrodite.

 

Despite looking like a kind goddess, she was vain and far from a sweet deity.

 

But Lance talked about somebody else as his and his sibling’s mother, who could that mother figure be, Keith did not know but she presumably wasn’t here and it definitely wasn’t Aphrodite.

 

When it came to her, Lance’s face twists to scowl at his biological mother’s name.

 

Keith knows that feeling. It’s actually relieving to know you’re not the only one. It is technically impossible to be the only being on this earth who’s going or gone through similar situations, but it was still comforting knowing you’re not alone.

 

The children of the gods were often looked down upon if they disobeyed their parents. Keith was rather infamous.

 

And just like Keith's situation, people must’ve assumed Lance was like Aphrodite.

 

 _Lance is nothing like Aphrodite._ Keith might have just met Lance, but in the half an hour Keith’s been talking and walking with him, he could tell this boy has a kind heart.

 

“It’s true you never got along with Hades?” asked Lance, quirking both eyebrows.

 

Keith, shrinking on himself, nodded. “The rumors are true,” he answers, fingers fumbling nervously with each other as his gaze casts down. “Not sure how others outside the underworld could’ve heard, but yeah.” he released a shivering sigh with a sweaty, but cold hand running through his mane. “My dad may be the more responsible ruler out of the trio, even Uncle Ze sees that, but he just wasn’t.. nice to me.”

 

Keith stops there, refusing to go all detailed on the verbal and sometimes physical fights (nobody knew about the latter), and Lance takes wind of this, so his shoulder leans and gently nudges at Keith’s, bumping it in a friendly manner.  
  
“You and I have stuff in common already,” Lance says, something else at the tip of his tongue but Keith beats him to it.  
  
“It’s comforting somebody else knows what I feel,” there was a sad smile that curled at the edges of his features when he admitted that, Keith wanted to come clean about it. “Is Aphrodite like Hades? Like..” He can’t put it into words so instead, he makes a gesture and a shrug. “Y’know?”  
  
“Unfortunately.” said the young demigod with deflating shoulders. “Sucks when you can’t do much about it, doesn’t it?”

 

Keith can only give a nod.

 

These boys are only nineteen and have already experienced quite a hard time.

 

Lance lowered his head. Keith observed the outline of his face and the way his eyes no longer glowed with enthusiasm, and how his smile has been replaced with a thin line, and how his eyebrows knitted together close.

 

It was a crime making Lance sad. There was a sense of protectiveness that washes over Keith, an overwhelming feeling that makes him want to pull Lance into a warming, loving embrace, but he kept himself still, thinking Lance might feel awkward if a stranger just.. suddenly hugged him.

 

Keith recalls not just over an hour earlier that, Lance has been very excited to introduce him to two of his best pals. That sounds quite familiar in all honesty and Keith couldn’t find the needle in the haystack.

 

It’ll eventually come back to him, what matters the most right now is seeing Lance smile. He’s so far gone.

 

“Let’s not think about that right now,” he says out of the blue, breaking the prolonged silence. “We’re here now, no longer under our parent’s thumb waiting to squish us. We’re _we_. Our parents do not define us.”

 

Lance said nothing, just stared, with lips that slowly began to curl fondly and excitedly. “Yeah - Yeah, you’re right!”

 

At the sight of his enthusiasm and grins returning Keith gets a smile of his own, with tinted cheeks he watches on for a moment.

 

“C’mon,” said the smaller of the two, “You wanted me to meet your best pals, right?”

 

Lance nods so quick Keith lost count how many times the his head bobbed up and down, lost in the counting made him squeak out a noise of surprise when he realized Lance had taken him by the wrist and tugged him, with all the excitement bubbling out like blooming flowers in the spring.

 

He was just a step back, so he got a front row seat view to the back of Lance’s head that slightly moved accordingly to his steps.

 

From here, he could see that mysterious tattoo, reaching all the way back behind the three-quarter-sleeve shirt. Keith can’t exactly decipher what it was, but from what he could see, it involved a jungle of vines that crept and crawled beautifully on the tan skin, curling at the edges of his chin and jaw, delicately curving whenever the flesh came down and moved due to the shifting muscles.

 

He also gets a good look of the rest of his outfit as he watched him fondly from the back. The shoes were checkerboard vans, jeans a shade of navy blue, slightly loose unlike Keith’s tight ones, shirt was a soft baby blue on the collar and sleeves with a darker blue plaid tightly hung around his hips and was his _shirt showing his stomach wait, oh my gods -_

 

Keith sputtered with a flying hand to his mouth, cutting the noises from earshot. _That is so cute, fuck._

 

He’s thankful Lance did not notice that little moment there, knowing himself he would've probably blurted out something, confessing what his thoughts had said.

 

                                                                                                       ~~~

 

The walk to the spot Keith presumed Lance’s friends were lasted longer than Keith originally thought.

 

Lance has apparently found a nice, secluded place from the camp where no more than them often wandered off to. The dirt at some point turned to gravel, crunching and shuffling under both the boy’s shoes, but soon the noises die down to the crunching of leaves and the trees open to a small pond.

 

Keith basked in at the sight of it. The mouth of the water was round, curving along the edges in a large circle with logs and two 2-person kayaks beached on the far end of the left, where a cozy cabin nestled in the back of the pond’s opposite side.

 

Small chirps of woodland creatures echoed through the trees, water dripped from somewhere to the pond and dragonflies danced on the water’s surface then flew off far into the distance.

 

“This is like our secret base.”  
  
Lance’s voice draws Keith’s attention back to him, standing by his side.

 

“It’s not so secret since others than ourselves know about it, of course,” Lance says, snorting, “but it’s a nice place whenever we just want to chill and hangout or have a campfire.”

 

“It is a very nice place.” said Keith, softly. He looked from Lance back to the pond, eyes trailing to the small cabin at the other side.

 

“The cabin over there is Coran’s second cabin,” as if he had read Keith’s mind, he answers the unsaid question, “Pidge and Hunk must be inside waiting for us, c’mon.”

 

Who was Coran, Keith couldn’t tell, but his name was familiar - he probably heard it days prior with all the morning commotions and forgot afterwards. Maybe he was a teacher here? Or just a student?

 

Nonetheless he’ll find out soon, probably. He follows Lance’s lead who had started walking toward the cozy house seconds ago, he quietly stepped over logs and rocks, taking in the calming aura of this place - that aura is very much like Lance’s.

 

They come upon the cabin’s door after rounding the pond, with a light knock on the door Lance calls out to his friends before he opens the wooden frame, ushering Keith to go first.

 

Once he steps inside and shuffles a few feet forward to give Lance space to walk inside, two violet eyes look the cabin over from the inside. There were knick knacks all around the place - trophies up on shelves, books neatly stacked in a satisfying order underneath them, scrolls stacked.

 

That was just a small piece from the rest of the house though. One of the many things that caught Keith’s eye was the flute and panpipes right atop the fireplace.

 

Then footsteps descend from the stairs and Keith’s attention turns to the source. He sees a girl come down first, she was shorter than the rest and had steampunkish goggles atop her head, right behind her was a teddy bear of a man with a headband around his head and a toolbelt.

 

“Hey, Lance!” calls the boy shuffling besides the other, “Is he the newcomer? You know we’ve barely even seen you, bud!”  
  
“Yeah, you look like a vampire.” The girl says offhandedly and the other bumps at her shoulder, but Keith dismisses it with an awkward laugh. Honestly he didn’t mind being compared to one - he looked like a walking corpse after all.

 

“Okay, okay, settle down guys,” Lance says just behind Keith, a wonderful roar of chuckles arising from his throat where his Adam’s Apple bobbed up and down - _oh boy, does Keith hope nobody notices the furious blush on his cheeks._

 

“My beloved friends, this is our new bud! Keith, Hunk and Pidge. Hunk and Pidge, Keith.” Lance tripped over his own tongue while he jumbled their names, earning him a chortle from Keith.

 

Introductions with Keith weren’t always the best. He’s awkward, weird and can’t socialize properly for his life - but you know what? These three demigods didn’t care about that.

 

They could care less if Keith was Hades’s son. Not that he had told them, but maybe they already knew, but if they did they paid no attention to that. They didn’t mind he was a shy mess or that he took his time to talk without clamming up.

 

Keith feels at home finally. He’s tranquil, warm, and for once not scared somebody will reject them.

 

                                                                                                       ~~~

 

Keith was practically melting into the most comfortable chair his butt has ever sat on while Lance played UNO with Hunk and Pidge.

 

He joined them shortly after, he still didn’t have the complete basics of the game down, but they helped him along and as the rounds continued, he had learned most of it. The current team was Lance & Hunk vs Keith & Pidge - this time they were tied, but if you go by team scores? They were also tied, but Keith wasn’t too concentrated when a rather warning shiver crawled up his spine.

 

The earlier needle in the haystack Keith couldn’t find _found_ _him_ instead.

 

In the literal form of an intimidating man who could bench press Hydra, flinging the door open to the cabin (it was by _far_ the worst scare the group has _ever_ gotten in their lives, probably), over the shrieks of fear, shock and startle the man shouted, words directed toward no other than the prince of darkness right there.

 

“  _You sneaky gremlin! "_ was all Keith had time to hear before footsteps barreled in a beeline for him, and all too late to escape he felt two hands yank him up by the shoulders.

 

It was Shiro (unsurprisingly).

  
He was in trouble.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> alternative chapter summary: here comes the angst train, choo-choo!


	3. long live the prince

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Cerberus.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WARNING: HEAVY INJURY IN THIS CHAPTER.

Being smothered in a one-armed hug while getting a noogie was not on the list of things he expected when Shiro came like at him like a wild Minotaur.

 

He’ll take being embarrassed and surprised over scolded and probably grounded. Although he’s nineteen, you can't ground a nineteen year old… maybe.

 

The hairful of his own hair being ruffled up prevents Keith from seeing, but he can feel the onlooking horror his new friends have on their face. ‘Horror’ is an exaggeration though, because the three of them were clearly snorting and laughing at the brotherly gesture once the initial shock lessened.

 

“Okay, okay!” came Keith’s voice piercing through laughter, while he desperately flailed like a headless chicken for successful freedom. That was only being Shiro’s grip loosened.

 

Keith’s strength came in his powers, his psychical body was more agile for quickness and flexibility. Shiro's however was all in psychical.

“Did you have to show up like that?” complained Keith as he fixed up his hoodie, then flopped back down to the chair.

 

“Yes,” said Shiro. “Because not only did you sneak away for the _fourth_ time,” he says warily, clearly displeased, but otherwise not angered. “You just disappeared. So of course I thought something happened to my cousin.”

 

Shiro did have a point and one Keith could not deny. Hades doesn’t go easy on certain people who escape the underworld, he will bring hell upon them if it means taking them back.

 

Like his biological mother, he never knew her name, hell, he never _even_ met her. She was just like a ghost. From what he’s heard, she was basically down there with the old grouch of a man that is Hades, then she just vanished, without a trace or a note.

 

If she did escape, if she even _existed,_ why didn’t she take him with her? Why did she leave him there to suffer? _Why-_ Keith’s insides twist and catches himself before he drives too deep down into the many doors to his mind and stirs up the chimney’s resting fire.

 

A dismissive hand is then waved in the air, “Sorry.” comes Keith’s voice after. “I should’ve at least left a note to let you know or something.”

 

“All’s forgotten.” said Shiro, gazing over Keith’s shoulder. “I see you’ve some of my students. In fact, the three I wanted you to meet.”

 

“Them?” asked Keith with curiosity and surprise, inching his head to side, “Yeah.” he then says with a smile to the trio. They all gave him a different, but approving gesture - Hunk gave a thumbs up, Pidge did the peace sign, and Lance did the finger guns.

 

“Well, I gotta go now,” Shiro said, a grin plastered across his scarred face when Keith looks back, proud like the brotherly figure he is. “Late for my own class.”

 

The older man waved the small gang a goodbye before he left.

 

                                                                                                       ~~~

 

Keith remained in that same comfy chair nearly the entire day. It was warm which pleased his cold body temperature and cushioned enough to sleep on, Keith always loved to cuddle or nestle when he was cozy or sleepy, so it was no surprise. He just loved to cuddle in general.

 

The UNO matches were over, It even got to the point that every time somebody had to pass, they’d have to do something silly or come up with a joke under five minutes, with the final victors being Team Hunk & Lance. The winners got to choose lunch, because neither of these young gods had ate properly. Sure they snacked on chips and beef jerky and whatnot, but snacks weren’t lunch.

 

They had insisted to surprise Keith and Pidge, thus they stayed in the cabin whilst the other two went to fetch food. Keith felt guilty just leaving them to get and carry all the food by themselves, but they were excited to just surprise them with the kinds of food neither Pidge or Keith had tried before.

 

Keith’s diet consisted of a lot of meat, It’s what residents in the underworld mostly got due to the lack of vegetation. Keith doesn’t even _know_ what kind of meat was that, as in, from what animal. There aren’t ‘animals’ in the underworld, the closest that came to that down there was weird, mindless things. That despite being dangerous and reckless Keith actually liked -- they were cute. Like the giant cat demon monster thing. It was a doll, Keith wonders what his kitty bud’s up to now.

 

Not long had Keith been musing to himself when a knock came to the cabin’s door. Nobody got to answer before a man had already invited himself inside, striding in, with a goofy moustache and a bright smile.

 

The man was also a satyr, may Keith note, that explains the flute and windpipes - satyrs often are musical lovers and this satyr surely seemed to be one. His hooves clacked along the wooden floor and his ram horns shone like the many jewels and gold coins Hades stored in the castle-mansion’s vault.

 

“Ah, I was wondering where you bunch went!” he said, a distinctive British accent in his voice.

 

The call was presumably directed to Pidge. Keith was curled and so far gone into the chair, he’s probably become part of it now. The short girl greets the satyr with a wave, hopping from her seat to walk up to the man.

 

“Hey Coran,” Pidge said.

 

Whatever they say next is lost to Keith’s ears. Coran, Keith’s thinking, that’s the man Lance talked about earlier, the owner of this secondary cabin. Somewhere along the day Keith had found out this cabin was mostly a storage one, while the main was back at the camp.

 

Keith also finds out he’s spacing out, with Coran and Pidge standing to his front, looking down with baffled expressions.

  
  
This is awkward.

 

“Um,” Keith begins with a mumble, moving to sit upright, properly speaking up his voice. “Sorry, I.. did you guys say something? I spaced out.”

 

“Oh, I noted!” said Coran, standing with both hands to his back, “But fret not, all’s forgiven! I’m Coran.” Coran reaches out a hand to meet Keith’s in a firm handshake.

 

“It’s nice t-” Keith’s cut off with a shriek as he’s yanked up (for a second time), brought up to his feet with a disoriented brain asking _what the fuck._ Not even a second later Coran’s rolled up the sleeves to the young demigod’s forearm, tapping at his arm experimentally.

 

“Wh- What are you doing?” Keith started.

 

Coran didn’t answer, but Pidge did.  
  
“Coran makes weapons.” Pidge unhelpfully inputs. What does that even have to do with checking his arm? It can’t be that Coran wants him to help _making_ weapons, Keith doesn’t know how to do that, all he knows is hand-to-hand combat, he doesn’t even know how to control his powers -

 

There was a chuckle to Keith’s side as the satyr let go of Keith’s only _slightly_ muscled arm; nose high with arms back around his back.  
  
“Indeed I do! As a teacher here, I make weapons for you lot to train with.”  
  
“Oh,” Keith said softly. Weapons? That… makes a lot of sense actually, he takes back thinking Pidge’s input was unhelpful, but to his defense she never clarified.  “I don’t think I’d be very good with weapons, I’m good with the knife though.”

 

“Mmm. That _is_ good, that’s splendid really!”

 

Keith didn’t really get to say much before Coran talks on and disappears upstairs, his voice only but a distant mumble through the wooden walls and floors, he was astonished. Even Pidge realized.  
  
“That’s our crazy satyr uncle for you,” Pidge offers a thumbs up, a grin so wide her dimples show up. “You’ll get used to it.”

 

Keith was all stirred up from that encounter, but didn’t find himself mad or weirded out about it. He already liked the old loon, as startled he may have gotten Keith.

 

Not long after Coran’s entrance, Lance and Hunk returned with bags of food for everybody.

 

Keith sniffed at the smell, the scent of unmistakable junk food going through the air. This is when Keith realized that _oh_ , when they meant _get lunch_ they meant _we’ll leave the camp to get food from the city._

 

Ironically, Keith has never tried any human food before either, and just smell of such is sure very enticing for him. He may look incredibly unhealthy with just a diet of pure meat but Keith would eat just about anything.

 

Isn’t it dangerous though, for kid demigods and gods to go around so carelessly, due to the dangers of other mystical beings wanting revenge on their parents so they use their kids as a payback or decoy, or were those just old tales and myths to get their rebellious children from trouble or running away? However, Keith’s sure they’re more than capable to defend for themselves.  
  
Hunk and Lance could clock anybody right in the face, that’s for sure, but that was only their psychical power.

 

They also had their godly powers thanks to their parents.

 

Hunk could blind him and in a second, he’d be shot in the face with a beam of light. Lance could snap his fingers and a uprooting of vines would be his six-foot coffin and grave.

 

Hunk’s powers seemed to be related to light. Not sun-like, like Apollo’s, though maybe it was like Apollo’s. Keith would've thought he was Apollo's brother, but he did clearly say he wasn't. He doesn’t know, there's also that many Gods and Goddesses just _create_ their children, with or without consort. Maybe that was Keith’s situation.

 

Lance’s powers were related to nature. In tales of old, Aphrodite was first thought to be the Goddess of Gardens and Agriculture, which perfectly clicks in with Lance’s ability. He could control plant life and make them grow at a mesmerizing speed, like time’s going by and you just stand there and watch the sun and moon with the weather cycle a week in a matter of seconds. That’s what it felt like, but time didn't pass, the tree just grows.

  
  
                                                                                                       ________  
  


They settled down outside the cabin for lunch (dinner), by the water where the soft pastel sky reflected off the still-pond and the sun was far behind the trees, setting away at the horizon mountains.

 

The gang dined all huddled around a campfire. In which Keith was the maker of that fire too, which he was more than happy to do. They all seemed pretty excited to watch him snap or woosh some fire from thin air, and they were, once the blue fire engulfed the wood they were grinning.

 

It’s nice they liked at least one of his abilities. He doesn’t think they’d like, well, a bunch of corpses rooting from the ground at Keith’s command. It’s certainly not a pretty sight or smell.

 

Keith’s curious about witnessing _their_ powers though. He’s only heard how theirs are, so he hasn’t seen them yet. Lance’s powers were earthly, Hunk’s powers were light-related and Pidge’s are magical.

 

As the sunset drove on and disappeared, when the moon now shone down on them, crickets chirped behind them and the long-blue campfire turned a lazy blur of candlelight orange, it crackles and twists as more wood was added to its flame.

 

The night grew colder. The were all shivering; cupping hands up to their face for hot air and rubbing their arms for body heat, except Keith didn’t feel any different. He could definitely feel the warmth of the fire on his cold lips, though, as far as temperature change goes.

 

Keith was seated on a log right to the front the shore. When he finished his dinner (which he loved, by the way) he let the others know he’s gonna be attempting to skip stones since he’s never tried it, but when he got there he just kind of dozed off.

 

The violet, piercing eyes rested their vision upon the calm waters where he could see the moon on the water far off, deeper into the pond, and his own reflection staring right back at him with those same tired eyes.

 

Everything around him was a blur as he solely focused on his image, though when he does snap back into reality is when a presence approaches him. His eyes unfocus on their own reflections and instead switch to stare at _who_ was besides them.

 

A pair of shiny ocean blue eyes gazed right into his.

 

Keith’s startled at first. His whole body jerking in a quick motion with a whipping head to the side for the blue eyes, but seconds after he saw them he already knew who the owner was, but he was still caught off guard thus his reaction.

 

“Lance,” he says, slightly jittery, “A-Ah sorry, you startled me.”

 

Lance was just as surprised as Keith. His eyes were slightly wide and his mouth poked open in a little circle, but it soon shifts as he gives a chuckle in response.

 

“Sorry, that wasn’t my intention,” said Lance, “You just looked so peaceful so I.. just kinda stood there watching you gaze into your reflection.” he admitted, a sheepish tone in his voice.

 

“No, no. S’okay,” Keith dismissed softly, relaxing back to his sitting spot, “I just spaced out.”  
  
The same chuckle from Lance comes around, making Keith’s cheeks flush with the tinge of red -- every time he heard this boy’s laugh it was a blessing.

 

He shortly takes notice that Lance was still standing up. Keith shuffles to the left, reaching a hand out where it invitingly pats the empty space next to him on the tree trunk, offering Lance a seat which he gladly accepts.

 

They allowed their gazes drift to the shimmering pond with it’s mirror of the sky, where fireflies above danced along the night with their little lanterns. It was an amazing, beautiful sight, Keith will agree - but it wasn’t as beautiful as Lance.

 

Keith finds himself staring at him.

 

He was admiring every inch of his being. The curves at his cheekbones, the soft point of the chin, his shining eyes, his neck with the tattoo. Keith’s still extremely curious about the design on it, but he wasn’t brave enough to ask what it was.

 

While he observes the tattoo, he can’t help but notice the way his shirt naturally lifts above his hips, exposing the flesh. So his shirt _is_ kind of like a crop top, just not above the belly, and it is definitely cute as fuck.

 

He can also see more of the tattoo down there much closer. The campfire glowed softly behind them while moonlight shone to their faces, the contrast between moon and fire's lighting made those tattoos glow in Keith’s eyes.

 

There was a question asked that Keith didn’t catch. He heard it, just didn’t understand it, as his brain went into panic mode when he’d realized that his thumb was pressed, tracing over the tattoos on the squishy flesh of Lance's hips.

 

Keith was just as shocked as Lance.

 

Keith sputters, “Oh my gods, I am so sorry,” he said, flailing himself back to pry away the hand. “I spaced out again and I saw your tattoo, so I just kinda…” He trails off, the desperate movements to his arms dying down to relax, along with his facial expression having more of a taken aback shock. Lance was just giggling. He was doubled over, face hidden behind a hand to muffle the noises.

 

“Dude, It’s okay!” When he was able to unwind himself and breath, Lance finally says, “I don’t mind at all, Keith. Here, I can just show y-”  
  
_Show him-_ the campfire sparks blue and roars up in it's ghostly spectacle for a solid second. “I-It’s fine! Y-You don’t have to, I, I have to get going,” Keith knows his mouth will spill something if he _saw him shirtless._ “I-I’ll see you tomorrow, g-guys!”

 

The stutter to his voice as he desperately stormed away made the rest question what was going on, heck even Lance didn’t know what just happened.  
  
As Keith stumbled his way through the woods to reach the camp again, he muttered under his breath and clung to his own arms. He wishes he wouldn’t be so awkward, he probably made Lance think he’s mad by storming away like that. Keith wasn’t mad at all, no! He was just.. an awkward ball of anxiety and affection.

 

When the path opens up, stops at the opening of the woods where the camp starts again. He gazes upon the sleeping camp, the only signs of life being the lanterns and the chirping of nocturnal creatures. His cabin was up ahead, he remembers the path they took, but he doesn’t want to go to his cabin.

 

He wants to go back and apologize for being so awkward and walking away like that.

 

So he stands his ground, puffing out his breath. He’s confident, they won’t turn him away or reject just because of that. He’s about to turn on himself back down the path to the pond when a petrifying shiver freezes him in place, crawling up like a clawed hand.

 

The fear’s familiar, but he can’t put his finger on _what_ is _that_ fear.

 

But life decides he won’t need to ponder on it too much, because _it_ comes to him.

 

Keith’s eyes are blown wide when six, respective red eyes appear in the distance, a familiar sight Keith never thought he’d see come for him. They get closer, and closer _and closer - fuck!_

 

Keith’s frozen and when the Cerberus catches up to him, it wastes no time in digging that sharp, arrow tail _through_ him, forcing Keith to part his lips to let out a bloodcurdling scream, but no noise came out. The tail perforated through the ribcage, puncturing a lung that cuts his screaming in mute. The thing can’t kill him, but it can sure hurt him.

 

This wasn’t the Cerberus Keith grew up with. This a different Cerberus, was Hades really going through all that trouble of getting another hell dog _just_ to drag Keith back to the Underworld? He knows the Cerberus is doing it’s thing, he can’t blame it, but he’ll be damned if he ever lets himself be taken back.

 

“C-Cerberus!” he chokes, voice barely a shout,  “Please!” He doesn’t know what he’s pleading from the hell beast. It won’t listen to him, the one that does is back at the Underworld - which belongs to Hades. The one back there would’ve just begged for him to come back, it would never hurt him like this one.

 

One of the beast’s heads turns around, biting down on Keith to busy him with crying and suffering so he wouldn’t beg for mercy or attempt to scream again. The half of his body is driven to a world of pain too, left side of the torso and arm rendered useless from the gaping wounds and searing pain.

 

At least it didn’t tear him apart, he was sure Hades wouldn’t care if he was brought back in one piece or not.

 

He curses as the beast begins it’s quiet walk back to from where it was sent. The beast’s fireproof, so he can only but call the dead to aid him, which he didn’t want to do, but it was back to the Underworld if he didn’t call upon his zombie friends. “S-Sorry, Cerberus..” Keith said, coughing up blood he hadn’t realized was there.

 

The good arm clenches to a fist, then sprawls open with tensed, twisted fingers. The ground rumbles, almost like an earthquake, and the beast stops short in it’s steps with wary howls and growls. This is a rude awakening to his neighbors, he’ll have to apologize for that too.

 

A minute later, the ground silences and the beast lift up their heads as all danger seems gone. But then long, and short, decaying or full-fleshed arms and hands with long nails and claws uproot from the ground and do not hesitate to cling to the Cerberus’s bulky legs as if their lives depended on the three-headed canine.

 

Like quicksand, the beast is being quickly devoured by the ground and the dead’s arms. The beast won’t die thankfully, but Hades is gonna have a surprise dog breaking through the roof of the castle that’s for damn sure.

 

In a moment of desperation the beast’s thick tail curls up in front of Keith’s face. Keith doesn’t have time to reach for his knife, so his human teeth shift to the razor sharp one, replacing each teeth that was remotely human.

 

He bites through the tail, severing it, and he flops to the ground like a rag doll. The tail writhes even after being taken apart, and the flailing ends up hurting the wound more but Keith had no strength left to pull it out. His vision was hazy, consciousness coming on and off.

 

The Cerberus was howling in their own pain as it went through solid ground and vanished.

 

To Keith’s not-surprised revelation, people had poured out their cabins and watched the horrific scene.

 

Keith passes out.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ahhh yes, horror and injuries. I’m known for doing stuff like this to my ocs too. At least I added something fluffy before shit went down.


	4. hearts & bones

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Keith is very, very, very weak and very, very, very gay.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was gonna wait until Monday or Tuesday to update but once again, I could not help myself;; stuff’s picking up! /rubs hands together
> 
> and let’s see who can spot the two certain references in this chapter. /rubbing hands together intensifies (hint: they both have to do with the jacket)

There were six, glaring red eyes, a pair on each face, with their owner snarling. Cerberus.

 

There was its tail, sharp like a spear, that went through him. It perforated a lung, broke several ribs and tore flesh and skin apart leaving a gaping gash on the surface. A scar.

 

There were the arms and hands, decaying or fleshed, with inhuman features and dangerous claws. The dead.

 

The living was watching, too.

 

That snaps Keith back into the conscious reality. His eyes were heavy with exhaustion, but he pulled through the longing for sleep and instead forced himself wake from the terrible nightmare. If he lulls himself back to slumber he was sure for the nightmare to continue, which he did not want.

 

It felt real enough, especially after nearly having his heart and lungs gutted with a tail.

 

Why was he having nightmares again? Keith thought he had those dealt with and _where is he-_

 

It dawns in on Keith this isn’t his bedroom, or cabin, or a familiar sight to his eyes. The panic starts creeping back into the his numb nerves so he shoots up as disoriented he may be, the whole world twists and turns, and Keith comes back down with a searing pain burning at his chest.  
  
“Fu _-ack!”_ Keith hissed out in pain, curling on himself. There’s not much he gets to say while he groans and writhes in pain with tears that forms at his eyes. _It wasn’t a nightmare._

 

To his side, he hears something shuffle and say, “Watch your language, young man.” The voice is familiar. Coran?  
  
So to confirm his suspicions, Keith looks to the source of the voice. Once his eyes land head on the figure, his vision adjusts and the blurring image of a blob shifts to who is indeed Coran. The satyr was standing with a concoction in his hands. He looked relieved.

 

“How are you feeling?” asked Coran, the wooden boards creaking under the hooves as he approached the bedside.

 

“Horrible.” Keith finds himself surprised to feel his voice work again. He has no self-healing capabilities so he couldn’t have healed over night. _Oh gods,_ for how long was he out?  
  
“Fret not,” says Coran, evidently noting the newfound panic, “You were only in a three-day coma. Here,” he continues as he lowers the bottled concoction. “This will help you numb the pain.”

 

Keith seems relieved that he at least wasn’t out for an entire week, it had felt like it now that his disoriented brain started to settle down. He took the concoction, sitting himself up the best and gentlest he could manage.

 

When he popped the cork off, the smell of the elixir came up in a woosh of reddish smoke that exploded in his face to infiltrate his nostrils with a foul smell. He gagged.

 

Keith can’t even begin to find the right words to describe the smell as Coran gave him the look you would expect out of a parent who’s waiting for their reluctant kid to drink their medicine, and may Keith be honest, that’s exactly how he feels under the satyr’s gaze.

 

As if it would be the end of him, Keith swallows his fears and gets all his might to chug the thing, head thrown back and face scrunched up from the odor and incoming taste. But to his surprise, it was.. sweet?

 

Keith’s nose now scrunches up in a puzzled curiosity as he sets the bottle down, swallowing the liquid, slowly and experimentally. “Why did you make me think it would taste just as bad as it smelled?” asks Keith, already feeling much better too.

 

The elixir worked fast. He felt the relief sweep through his aching chest wound, the diminishing pain allowing him to breath better. How did his lung heal in _three days?_ No doubt it still hurt, of course, but somebody must’ve healed him. He figures he’ll ask about it later though.

 

Keith takes in a slow breath in order to prep himself to get up. He can’t hold his breath for long, so he lets it go back out, while his muscles shifted with the pressure on both hands to sit up, but it goes horribly when Keith decides to force it. While he did end up sitting up, he also coughed blood down to the sheets and a hand that had predicted the external blood.

 

“Son, I appreciate your enthusiasm but do refrain from wounding yourself,” said Coran, scolding the smaller deity, taking a nearby cloth, “You may be much better from when we rushed you for healing, but that doesn’t mean you’re _fully_ healed. Try taking it slow, wouldya?”

 

Coran handed the cloth, Keith felt like a kid all over again once more, either way he took the rolled up piece with a thanks and started cleaning the blood from his hands. The man was concerned for him though, he means good with every action or words he does or say, so he knows where Coran’s coming from and he appreciates the concern. He feels bad for worrying people though.

 

“I’ll be fine,” says Keith. “I’m gonna make sure I don’t do anything rash.”

 

Keith puts the cloth aside, pushes himself completely off the bed and balances himself on the floor, using the bed’s nightstand table as a support in case he fell over. He’s got enough bruises as it is  _thankyouverymuch._

 

To his side at the head of the medical bed he can see a jacket hung on the backrest, and his own hoodie for that matter, but he was more curious about the other. “Hey, Coran, is that someone’s?” well, of course it was, but whom’s is the question.

 

Coran had busied himself with something else when Keith had turned to him, but the satyr looked away from his work to see what Keith was talking about. He follows Keith's gaze to the said jacket, “Oh, yeah!” Coran says. “That’s Lance’s.”

 

Keith felt his cheeks warm up at the mention of the boy’s name which doesn’t go by Coran as he seems to take notice, if his sudden eyebrow wiggle was anything to go by. Keith averts eye contact, coughing into a fist.

 

“L-Lance?”  
  
“Mhm! The boy’s worried sick for you,” Coran steps around, approaching Hades’s kid to reach by his side, taking the jacket in his hands. “It was hard getting him back to his cabin, he wanted to sleep here every night until you got better. He forgot this yesterday, presumably, I saw it this morning.”

 

Keith was in a state of surprise and fluster. Lance was worried for him even after he stormed off, he even wanted to stay to look after him overnight, Keith still needs to apologize.

 

“I’ll give it back to him.” Keith offers, taking his own hoodie, “I want to go see him so while I’m at it I can return it.”

 

Coran agrees, handing the jacket over to the young prince. He swung both his hoodie and Lance’s jacket over both shoulders after throwing on a spare shirt, kneeling down in order to slip on and tie his converse to head out.

 

It was glad to know things hadn’t changed when he steps out the medical bay. The moment he went through the door, the same judging eyes had landed on him with a high guard. It was understandable, he had brought a dangerous creature upon a camp where the children of gods should be safe, but then he came along and brought a beast hot on his tail. If people didn’t avoid him before, they sure as all hell would now. He hopes that Lance won’t avoid him.

 

He came to check up on him though, even Coran said how worried he’s been. If he didn’t want Keith around he wouldn’t visit him -- _unless_ , Keith thinks, he wanted to tell him off and he was just worried for his friends. It’s possible, and Keith wouldn’t blame him.

 

Keith decides to not think about that. That’s just his mind tricking him, and he won’t let his anxiety-written brain distance him from having friends and getting closer to Lance. He’s probably getting too ahead of himself, he’s only known Lance for technically two days and here he was daydreaming.

 

Well, a man can dream. Lance would probably never be into a gloom like him.

 

As Keith makes his way through camp to find Lance, he comes across his cabin that stood out from the rest due to the inwardly bent pole. If Keith were to be honest, he didn’t even notice the number on his cabin door that indicates who’s cabin is who’s, as a result of having barely gone out _and_ having arrived so late at night with exhaustion coming off his aura and taking over his senses that he really didn’t care to notice much about his surroundings, so hey, the melted pole was a good marker for Keith. Where’d the half-infused lamp go, though?  
  
It’s not long before it clicks into Keith’s mind that he’s been out for three days, which means his hair’s a mess, his breath must stink, and his face must be sticky, he would take a bath but he doesn’t want to keep the others waiting. But if they were taking classes, he might just have a bit of time.

 

He finds and asks the nearest teacher that he spots, to ask about Lance and his friends’s class schedules and it turned out that he did in fact some time. Lance was currently taking weapon practice with Hunk and Pidge, so Keith takes the opportunity to slip back into his cabin and take a quick bath.

 

                                                                                                       ________

 

He’s ready in twenty five minutes, He took a shower, washed his hair, cleaned his mouth, everything he could under that length of time. He felt refreshed after a nice hot shower, his tensed muscles had relaxed, but he had to be extra careful with the wound on his chest that he ended up having to renew the bandage, by taking what was left in his aid kit and using that bit to take out the damped one.

 

His old hoodie was covered in blood, so he couldn’t use it. He took out a new one that had no design on the front however, but on the back it had yet another design of a skull. This one took up nearly the whole back, with the skull having its eye sockets in the shape of hearts and the sleeves covered in white imprint of roses.

 

He did take it out and laid it down on his bed, but he didn’t take it with him. Keith swore he had picked it up too when he took Lance’s jacket in his hands, but apparently he just _thought_ he had.

 

He didn’t need his hoodie right now though, sure he always feels chilly, but not to the point he can never just wear a t-shirt so he didn’t feel the need to go all the way across the camp to get it.

 

Keith had gone right back to the secluded cabin and pond, where he sat on the same log the night before the Cerberus incident. Instinctively, Keith reaches a shaking hand to his chest where the wound still heals. It’s a chilling, unpleasant memory that one - seeing doom looming over you in the form of demonic beast and being too frozen in place you don’t even defend.

 

Keith will probably have to face Hades someday. If he sent a Cerberus to get him, who knows what else he’ll send. Hades has tricks up his sleeves and riches, so he’d probably put a price on his missing son to get him back. He doesn’t want to face Hades alone, though.

 

He drops both shoulders that he was unaware he had tensed, his entire body relaxing as he allows himself to calm out his thoughts and tune in with the nature around him.

 

 _That’s it, breathe._ says a little voice in Keith’s head. _Everything’s gonna be alright._

 

Keith let’s out a breath, making a soft noise as he did so. Keith looks down to his arms, where he carries Lance’s bomber jacket, taking moment to observe it closer.

 

It was a suede bomber jacket that looked like a pilot’s jacket, colored in a light army green with a coffee brown fur neck. When Keith unfolds and stretches it out, he can see three patches. The two on the left where atop one another, the one on top was the NASA logo and the one on the bottom was a astronaut’s helmet with the reflection of a planet, circled by the words _space cadet_ in caps, and the patch on the right was a red heart.

 

The patches were adorable, all three of them. Lance seems to like space, which Keith does too, and the heart just shows how lovable and passionate Lance is. He smiles down to the jacket, then he’s lifting his head back up with a heedful look, scanning the area around him.

 

He chews down on his bottom lip, contemplating, whether he should do it or not. Because what if somebody saw him, and recognized the jacket that belongs to somebody else. What will he say? Because it obviously does not belong to him and the other person would know.

 

Keith’s made sure that the cost is clear and he’s told himself to only do it as quick as possible. He lifts up the jacket by its shoulder area and swings it across overhead to his back, sliding one arm into the right sleeve then the left sleeve, where he shrugs on the jacket and he falls comfortably in it.

 

It was soft and warm, still carrying Lance’s scent. It wasn’t that big on Keith, but just big enough so his fingers are what poke out of the sleeves, the rest goes just past his hips which he doesn’t mind in the least.

 

Keith said he’ll be quick with trying on Lance’s jacket, but time became a blur and he had only thought five seconds had passed. Or maybe it did and Keith just had horrible timing due to thinking too much.

 

Momentarily, Keith had forgotten the jacket he was wearing was Lance’s since he was startled by him coming up behind him, with no sound whatsoever and then whispering out a little _hey_ right next to his ear. Keith had thrown himself to the side, he almost fell off that log.

 

Keith was squeaking, stumbling to his feet in a clumsy attempt to turn and stand at the same time. “L-Lance! Ah,” He says, then coughs to clear his throat, trying to push down the stutters. That was the second time Lance had caught him off guard in the same place, Keith fondly notes.

  
“I was looking for you,” he continues, but Lance interjects with just a wonderous look.

 

“That’s my jacket.” Lance notes.

“Oh…” _oh_ _right_ indeed.

 

Keith felt the heat rise up his cheeks, both hands fumbling over the jacket so he can take it off but a hand taking a very soft hold of his forearm stops him.  
  
“No, no, no.” said Lance, “Keep it. It suits you.” and bumped his shoulder with a fist softly.

 

And then, _oh boy, oh boy,_ Lance bites down on his own bottom lip, dragging the top teeth across the flesh, so _slowly,_ before his lip runs out and pops out. _Lance bit his bottom lip_ _and looked extremely teasing._ Did Lance even realize he was doing that? Was that intentional? Either way Keith _swore_ that if he wasn’t blushing hard enough before, he sure is right now, it felt like his heart wanted to explode out of its bony cage.

 

Keith had his arms drop and the jacket loosely hang off the one shoulder he almost took it off from, his face was all red and eyes wide. He blinked a few times, coming back down from his mind all over the place.  
  
“B-But, I was gonna r-”

 

Lance cuts off Keith’s words again, slipping right into his side in a smooth move that involved throwing one arm around his and shoulder neck to pull him close into his own side. Keith felt how his heartbeat perfectly matched Lance’s, beating in a perfect synchronized rhythm.

 

Both their hearts were going at a fast rate, but Keith was too busy blushing furiously and stumbling over every which one of his thoughts running around in his brain at the same time to notice Lance himself was flustered. Keith doesn’t know how to tell when people are flirting with him, so that’s expected.

 

“Ah-ah,” hummed Lance, waving a finger to the words, “I said you can keep it, so you must.”

 

Lance is close, _very, very, very close_ , It's giving him a bunch of bodily reactions. Keith has to pull immense willpower to stop himself from pulling the boy down into a kiss. He can only nod wordlessly as he basically melts in the physical contact with Lance.

 

“Your cheeks are very red,” Lance points out, a small curl to the corner of his lips.

 

 _Panic._ “N-No, they aren’t- I mean, actually, yeah,” _Panic. Waitwhat- noo, don’t panic, Kogane!_ “B-But that’s because it’s a h-hot day?" that didn’t sound as convincing as Keith would’ve wanted to, because the weather's at even temperature, his voice's all croaky, and he's always got cold body, but Lance seems to drop it for the sake of Keith not passing out, he looked like he might.

 

“Mmhm,” Lance hummed, that smirk ever so present.

 

Keith wants to kiss it. Then, he remembers, “Oh.. Lance?” he pauses, then continues. “I wanted to apologize for storming off like that the night of the.. Cerberus incident. I’m not sure what came over me.” he chuckles, offering an awkward smile. “G-Guess I was all sleepy.” Keith knows very well what came over him, but he wasn’t about to admit that.

 

“Hey, don’t sweat it,” the demigod said, shrugging, “I figured you were just tired, heh,” Lance reassured, and Keith relaxed at that, and then Lance no longer could help but to voice the question poking at his brain. “Why do you have sharp teeth? Or, since when?”  
  
Keith blinks.

 

Keith forgot about those. _Fuck._ He brushed his teeth earlier how did he not notice- “It’s, uh, something alright,” Keith says, running his tongue over the sharp and shiny teeth, “I was born with them. Not sure why I have them, but I have two sets of teeth. These and human’s.” He says, and he opens his mouth to allow his human teeth jug out atop the layer of the sharp ones, who are retracting backwards while the others forward.

 

It is a disturbing sight, with how the teeth just stride back and forth and the flesh of his face shifts according to the teeth as they readjust themselves back into their space, but Lance didn’t seem creeped out by it or anything, which made Keith really happy.

“Woah, cool!” Lance said, amazed, but then his shoulders drop, “Speaking of that, the Cerberus thing, are you feeling alright? You were out in a coma..” Lance had now only just _a bit_ pulled himself away from Keith to look down to where the chest currently held a wound on. “And the arm too!”

 

Keith had forgotten all about the wound honestly, so when he was remembered he did flinch since what hurt the most was the chest wound. He had found out earlier the wounds on his arms had healed much quicker, which reminds him, who healed his lung?

 

“The chest’s okay,” said Keith, allowing his gaze drift down to his chest, “The arm too, it doesn’t hurt. It’s just very sore and.. do you by any chance knows who healed me? I don’t think my lung would’ve healed in just three days.”

 

Lance doesn’t hesitate to respond. “I did. I have healing powers so, the moment I they took you to the medical bay I rushed in to help.”

 

Keith had his mouth hung open, eyes slightly wide, “I-I..” Keith stammers, now smiling. “Thank you, Lance. Sorry for worrying you.”  
  
“You don’t need to apologize for something like that, Keith.” Lance nudged Keith’s cheek with his thumb, smiling, “I’m just glad you’re okay. _However,_ I _would_ accept a kiss as a form of thanks.” Lance meant that seriously, but he didn’t think Keith would take it serious.

 

So, needless to say, when Keith had leaned in and pecked Lance’s cheek with sweet, loving lips, Lance felt his heart run a marathon in the five seconds the kiss on the cheek lasted.

 

Keith didn’t know how he lost his self-control for a while there, his cheeks were burning up and his everything was a current flustered mess. So, he hadn’t really let Lance ask or say anything before he had changed the subject because _hot damn_ , if Lance asks about it Keith will make out with him. He’s too weak.

 

“A-About that, too! The Cerberus thing, I was thinking I’d need to face my father, eventually..” He takes a pause, looking up at Lance. He was still visibly flustered and taken aback, so he had given the demigod some time to process and then relax. When he did, Keith continues, “But, I don’t want to go alone, because honestly? I’m scared as fuck. S-So, do you wanna come with me?”  
  
Keith proposes the idea, though he doesn’t really expect Lance to accept it because of the _having to go to the underworld_ part. Because really, the underworld isn’t all that pleasant.  
  
“Of course!” Lance didn’t hesitate once more to answer the question. “I’m gonna give your father a good punch for nearly tearing you apart with that Cerberus.” Lance scoffed, recalling what he had witnessed. That night, he had heard some rustling and growling, which he asked Keith if he heard but he hadn’t seem to hear his question or the weird noises. That must’ve been the Cerberus.

 

“W-Wait,” Keith sputters. “Really? Like, are you sure?”  
  
“One hundred percento.” Lance reaffirms. Keith chuckles.

 

“I appreciate you wanting to give my dad a good one, but let’s keep you out of trouble please.” Keith nudges Lance’s shoulder, which ends up being returned just as playfully.

 

“Alright, but no promises.” Lance throws a finger up, grinning.

  
Keith had to give another kiss to Lance’s cheek right then and there.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Did you really think I could pass up the opportunity for them to wear each other’s jacket?

**Author's Note:**

> I know this probably seems like a Nico Di Angelo crossover thing (Idk how the book’s called) but I just actually suddenly got the idea for a Greek Gods AU with Voltron;; believe I soon realized that Keith being Hades’s son made me think of Nico a lot lmao. I need to read that book sometime tbh, but anyways! I'm v excited about this so hopefully you all enjoy it too <3


End file.
